Field
The present disclosure generally relates to optical communication and, more particularly, methods, circuits and active optical cable assemblies for simultaneous optical transmission of high-speed and low-speed data.
Technical Background
Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation. Because of these advantages, optical fiber is increasingly being used for a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, broadband voice, video, and data transmission. Additionally, optical cable assemblies may be utilized in consumer electronics applications to transfer data between electronic devices.
Some data transmission interfaces require low-speed data (e.g., telemetry data) to be transmitted simultaneously with high-speed data (e.g., up to 10 Gb/s and beyond). However, the additional low-speed data require an additional transmission medium, such as copper conductors or additional optical fibers. The additional transmission medium may increase the diameter of the optical cable, and, in the case of copper conductors, require DC isolation between ends of the optical cable as well as provide additional shielding requirements due to electro-magnetic interference concerns. Additional optical fibers for low-speed transmission may increase the cost of the optical cable.